Overview
- Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the USDA ran over 1,000 simulations and claimed a healthy meal can cost about $3 using a piece of chicken, a piece of broccoli, a corn tortilla, and “one other thing.”
- Her assertion that grocery costs are coming down contrasts with federal data showing a 0.7% jump in December grocery prices and roughly 3.1% food inflation year over year.
- A USDA spokesperson said the analysis identified hundreds of thousands of $3 meal options, citing items such as poultry, cottage cheese, frozen vegetables, potatoes, frozen fruit, whole-grain bread, and butter.
- The remarks drew widespread criticism on social platforms, with figures including Rep. Ted Lieu and Chasten Buttigieg mocking the example as unrealistic.
- Rollins tied the claim to the administration’s revamped dietary guidelines and said the USDA plans changes to SNAP retailer stocking standards to increase availability of healthier options at small stores.